White Rose Centre

The White Rose Centre is a shopping centre in the Beeston area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It spans two floors and is near the M621 motorway. It takes its name from the White Rose of York, the traditional symbol of Yorkshire. Most shops are situated on the Ground Floor. The Upper Level mezzanine and ‘The Village’ outdoor expansion houses one of two food courts as well some retail outlets, a Cineworld 11-screen cinema, a Starbucks and an al fresco dining terrace including new tenants Wagamama, Prezzo, TGI Fridays and Five Guys among others. It also houses an outdoor children's play area. Although the centre is smaller than other out-of-town shopping centres, it contains large retailers such as Next, JD Sports, Zara, H&M, Primark, River Island and Marks & Spencer.

Construction

The site covers and was formerly the Morley Sewage works. Before building work began in 1995, enabling works including removing the sewage works, sealing disused mine shafts, removing contaminated soil and profiling the sloping site, were carried out. It required moving 750,000 cubic metres of soil to grade a 30-metre fall across the site and create level terraces for the structure and car parks. Work commenced on the 87-week project on 10 July 1995 and by September the first steelwork was visible. 600 semi-mature, trees were purchased from Germany and planted in the car park to provide landscaping. Five thousand trees and shrubs have been planted around the car parks and perimeter roads. ==Dining==

Dining

The Balcony Food Court takes up most of the upper floor in the central atrium. It includes McDonald's, KFC, Subway, Spud-u-like, Bagel Factory (previously Bagel Nash), Juice, Nando's, Frankie & Benny's and Pizza Express plus a number of other food outlets In 2015 the White Rose extended the entrance to the upper level between car park 4 and 5 which created 3 new restaurants which have changed since opening. The Balcony leads to a newly constructed area of the centre known as The Village. This includes further eateries namely Pizza Hut, Five Guys, Limeyard, Wagamama, Chiquito and TGI Fridays. ==Community==

Community

The White Rose Centre is involved in a number of social welfare activities in the local area. Older people are able to participate in mall walking within the covered environment. It houses the White Rose Learning Centre run in conjunction with Education Leeds and Leeds City College to provide dance classes and other educational activities for children at risk of exclusion from school in an informal environment. The Quiet Room in the Upper Circle is available for use by all patrons and staff during the Centre opening hours. ==Criticism ==

Criticism

Criticism has been levelled at the lack of a railway station, despite the centre's proximity to the Huddersfield and Wakefield railway lines. Plans to add a station have been developed and the go ahead to begin construction was expected in 2022. White Rose railway station is now expected to open in 2024. ==Past and future expansion==

Past and future expansion

In 2015 the White Rose extended the entrance to the upper level between car park 4 and 5 which created 3 new restaurants as well leading to the balcony and a new entrance to what would later be incorporated into 'The Village'. In 2017 a £25 million extension was completed and named 'The Village'. It included an 11-screen IMAX Cineworld Cinema, a number of new restaurants including; Pizza Hut, Chiquito, Wagamama, Five Guys, Limeyard and TGI Fridays. A children's outdoor play area opened in 'The Village' in 2018. ==McDonald's sign==

McDonald's sign

In March of 2025, the shopping centre made the news when Steve Lovell posted in the Dull Men's Club Facebook group about the center of the 'D' in the McDonald's sign being missing. He proceeded to take measurements and print a replacement on his 3D printer before replacing the missing part of the 'D'. The center of the 'O' also broke away which Lovell also replaced. Lovell was then awarded 'Employee of the Month' for his efforts by the White Rose Centre. The story went viral with numerous news sources reporting on the story. ==References==

Source: Wikipedia ↗

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